2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright today. releases Rufus Wainwright and Amsterdam Sinfonietta Live via BMG’s Modern Recordings on vinyl, CD, and digital download. The album contains two additional bonus tracks on digital format and CD; the album is available now HERE
Rufus Wainwright and Amsterdam Sinfonietta Live was recorded in January 2017 as Wainwright toured with the prestigious all-string ensemble Amsterdam Sinfonietta through the Netherlands. Curated by Wainwright, the ten concerts reflected the immense bandwidth of his musical influences and interests, spanning Verdi arias, pieces by Rameau and his beloved Berlioz, American standards, classics by Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, French chanson, songs by his family, and songs of his own, some written expressly for this program. At the album’s emotional center is an epic version of late Canadian singer-songwriter Lhasa de Sela’s harrowing “I’m Going In,” a song written about her own death from cancer at the age of 37. With Wainwright’s voice truly at the peak of its substantial power, Rufus Wainwright and Amsterdam Sinfonietta Live 2017 showcases the astounding artistic kinship between the celebrated singer-songwriter and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta – led by Candida Thompson – making these previously unreleased live recordings something utterly unique and entirely breathtaking.
"Singing with an orchestra is one of the great joys of my life, says Wainwright, “you feel like you are becoming one with a massive group of musicians. Singing with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta is a category of its own. Singing with that orchestra is such a special group of musicians led by violinist Candida Thompson. They carry you, lift you, catch you, caress you, cuddle you, massage you, encourage you. These live shows were magic for me and I am proud to say that this magic translates into these recordings. I am very proud of what can be listened to on this album."
In other exciting news, the Hollywood Music in Media Awards named his song “Secret Sister” from the film Rebel Hearts, as the best original song for a documentary
Rufus Wainwright and Amsterdam Sinfonietta Live follows the release of Rufus Wainwright: Unfollow The Rules – The Paramour Sessions, a new concert recording available now on vinyl and digital download HERE. The concert – which first premiered last summer in partnership with ALL ARTS and the WNET Group and later received a New York EMMY® Award nomination for its WNET broadcast – sees Wainwright performing songs from last year’s GRAMMY® Award-nominated Unfollow The Rules, recorded live in a beautiful ballroom at the famed Paramour Mansion in Los Angeles.
ABOUT AMSTERDAM SINFONIETTA
Founded in 1988, Amsterdam Sinfonietta comprises 22 string players who perform under the leadership of violinist Candida Thompson, the orchestra’s concertmaster since 1995 as well as its artistic director since 2003. Their unique approach to music-making, without a conductor, distinguishes the group from traditional chamber orchestras, calling for an extremely intense degree of involvement from all the musicians. The repertoire covers a variety of styles, from baroque repertoire to contemporary new works. Amsterdam Sinfonietta has made international tours of Europe, China, South America, and Australia, and performed at such iconic venues as the Barbican Hall in London, Cité de la Musique in Paris, the National Centre of Performing Arts in Beijing, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the Konzerthaus in Vienna. Widely acclaimed for its highly innovative programs and trademark versatility, the orchestra has collaborated with such diverse musical artists as Rufus Wainwright, Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Jonathan Jeremiah, and the Dutch band De Dijk. For more information, please visit www.sinfonietta.nl
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RUFUS WAINWRIGHT AND AMSTERDAM SINFONIETTA LIVE
TRACKLIST
How Deep is the Ocean (Irving Berlin)
Foolish Love (Rufus Wainwright) *
Excursion a Venise (Kate and Anna McGarrigle)
Triste Apprêts (Jean Philippe Rameau)
Go Leave (Kate and Anna McGarrigle)
Gay Messiah (Rufus Wainwright)
Who by Fire (Leonard Cohen)
All I Want (Joni Mitchell) *
Argentina (Rufus Wainwright)
I’m Going In (Lhasa de Sela)
L'Île Inconnue (Hector Berlioz)
Arachne (Rufus Wainwright)
Amsterdam (Jacques Brel)
* CD and DIGITAL ONLY
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